Nivens Selected by Kansas City in Fifth Round of MLB Draft
July 10, 2023 | Baseball
SEATTLE, Wash. – Missouri State's Spencer Nivens was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the fifth round (142nd overall) of the 2023 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Monday.
Nivens was named the Missouri Valley Conference Joe Carter Player of the Year this season and hit .341 with 14 home runs and 45 RBI. The outfielder reached safely in 53 of 56 games and ranked among the MVC's top 10 in nearly every offensive category. The Columbia, Mo., native's six triples this year were the most by an MSU player since 2016, while his 36 extra-base hits were the most since both Jake Burger and Jeremy Eierman reached that total in 2017. He also hit for the eighth cycle in school history and first since 1998 in February.
Nivens is the first MoState outfielder chosen in the draft since Hunter Steinmetz in 2018. His selection marks the 116th time a Missouri State player has been picked in the draft, and he is the 19th Bear to go in the top five rounds. Among MSU outfielders, only Tate Matheny (4/111 in 2015) and Matt Cepicky (4/120 in 1999) have been drafted higher.
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Nivens was named the Missouri Valley Conference Joe Carter Player of the Year this season and hit .341 with 14 home runs and 45 RBI. The outfielder reached safely in 53 of 56 games and ranked among the MVC's top 10 in nearly every offensive category. The Columbia, Mo., native's six triples this year were the most by an MSU player since 2016, while his 36 extra-base hits were the most since both Jake Burger and Jeremy Eierman reached that total in 2017. He also hit for the eighth cycle in school history and first since 1998 in February.
Nivens is the first MoState outfielder chosen in the draft since Hunter Steinmetz in 2018. His selection marks the 116th time a Missouri State player has been picked in the draft, and he is the 19th Bear to go in the top five rounds. Among MSU outfielders, only Tate Matheny (4/111 in 2015) and Matt Cepicky (4/120 in 1999) have been drafted higher.
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